Healing Hearts
by Asy1um
Summary: Halfway through freshman year, Santana's life was uprooted when her family moved to Uganda to spearhead a hospital in the war torn countryside. Now, she's back in Ohio with a new outlook and a dark secret. Can she learn to deal with her past, while also learning to fall in love? Fapezberry


Healing Hearts

Summary: Halfway through freshman year, Santana's life was uprooted when her family moved to Uganda. Now, she's back in Ohio with a new outlook and a dark secret. Can she learn to deal with her past, while also learning to fall in love?

Pairing: Quinn/Santana/Rachel

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I cannot even claim to fully own Isabel, as she was inspired by a fictional character. I simply mess around with some pretty fuckin' awesome characters, and their story lines.

A.N. I know very, very little about Uganda. I have never been there, nor met anyone who has been or lived there. I have seen pictures, and watched the Kony 2012 video (but who hasn't?), and read some articles on Wikipedia for research on this story. Please don't misconstrue anything in my story against the people or country of Uganda - I mean no disrespect. It's a country with many, horrific problems, but beauty can be found anywhere. I will try to do as much justice as I can to the good of Uganda as I can. If you see something that is incorrect, please let me know and I will correct my mistakes as soon as I am able.

A.N. 2: A bit of a challenge for you. If anyone can figure out who I've modeled Isabel López after, before I introduce her lover, I will send each of those people a snippet from the next chapter, regardless of what chapter you guess on. And of course, some cookies and hot chocolate. With cinnamon. ;) Mind you, the challenge is because Isabel is very different from her predecessor, but not completely separate.

/-/-/-/  
**Chapter 1**

Santana watched as the ground slowly rose to meet them, glad that she had scored a window seat on the tiny plane.

"Ladies and Gentleman, Welcome to Lima, Ohio. Thank you for flying American Eagle Airlines, and we hope you had a pleasant flight. If you have baggage to collect, it will be in baggage claim area 2. If you are connecting to another flight, please listen to hear for your gate number. For Cincinnati, Ohio, gate..."

She was finally back in Lima, Ohio after leaving three years ago. So much had changed since then. She had changed so much since then. She doubted that Lima had changed at all. Small towns rarely did; they stayed the same as the time passed them by, rebelling against change and gripping tightly to any who tried to escape.

_It's only for a few months_, she reminded herself. She had always hated living in Lima. When her father had been offered a position to start a hospital in war torn Uganda, he had made the choice to bring his family with him. Santana thrilled at the chance to get out of this podunk town, to escape the relative hell that was William-McKinnley High School. Leaving her best friends behind had been hard, but she told herself it was worth it. She wasn't so sure now.

The plan jolted as the landing gear touched down, the rapid slowing of the plane forcing her further back into her seat. She heard numerous metallic clicks as the passengers aboard her tiny puddle jumper unfastened their seatbelts as the plane taxied to the gate. Santana was motionless as the the other people aboard began to stand and collect luggage, turn on their Apple iPhones and make calls that simply could not wait.

It felt so strange to Santana, to be around so much technology, so many gadgets. She wondered if she had been that attached to her cell phone before she had left, unable to go 20 minutes without a glance at the digital screen. She probably had been, but she couldn't remember; it simply didn't matter any more.

During her layover in New York, she had been overwhelmed with the amount of people and sensory overload provided by shops and restaurants. Even going to the restroom had been a memorable experience; being able to flush such a sophisticated toilet, and having access to immediately running hot water was a luxury she hadn't had in three years. She had pretty much forgotten what it was like. She remembered being able to take for granted her safe home, her car, her computer and education, the food in her kitchen, and basic utilities. Before she had moved, these things were just there; she had paid them no mind because it was natural to have them. Oh, how things change.

She found herself appalled at watching a young boy scream at his mother because she wouldn't give him a cookie; hundreds of children were allowed to play with the newest gadgets - some kind of electronic tablet without a keyboard - and the shear amount of food left her feeling slightly nauseous. Just the amount of food in the airport could have fed the village for months. Maybe a year. Of course, that didn't stop her from getting in line at the first McDonald's she saw and ordering a Big Mac and fries. She had paid for it later though; it seems that after years of eating only the food she could grow herself, her body did not appreciate her stuffing it with foul, processed meat and chemicals. Duly noted. Luckily, it had been a long layover, and her stomach had been cleansed before she had gotten on the small airplane bound for her hometown.

She was jolted from her musings as a particularly large fellow walked by, hitting Santana with his overstuffed carry-on. She glared resentfully after him, glad she had decided to wait for the throng to depart before she stood from her seat. After nearly 16 hours of being on planes, plus a combined 9 hours of layovers in various cities, Santana was ready to leave anything to do with air travel behind for a very long time.

Finally, when it seemed that 90 percent of the passengers had left the plane, Santana rose - head stooped slightly - and stepped into the isle, stretching gratefully. She reached into the overhead storage compartment and grabbed her small, worn backpack and slung it over one shoulder. She made her way up the plane; thankfully she had been placed near the front of the plane and didn't have far to go. Nodding to the flight attendants, she stepped onto the off-ramp and made her way to the gate. She remembered the pay-as-you-go cell phone she had been given to contact her family after she departed the plane, and reached into her pocket to turn it on. There were only two numbers stored inside: her father's satellite phone for absolute emergencies, and her Aunt's cell phone. She selected option two, and continued walking towards the baggage claim.

"Santana! _Mi sobrina_!" Her aunt squealed enthusiastically over the phone, "I'm here at the baggage claim, _niña,_ and I can't wait to see you!"  
Santana chuckled. Her aunt Isabel had always been her favorite member of the family; Isabel was only 10 years older than she, and she had a wicked streak a mile long. She had always treated Santana like her best friend - never a child - and was Santana's role model. She was also the youngest mayor Lima had ever elected; her ambition and intelligence were something that Santana had always strived to emulate. The only good thing about staying in Lima was getting to be with her Aunt.

"_Hola, Tía,_" she responded, knowing her grin could be heard through the phone, "I just got off of the plane. _Díos mío_ I am so tired of airports. I'll be at the baggage claim in no time. See you soon!"

She heard her aunt say goodbye and flipped the phone closed. She hadn't wanted to check her small piece of luggage, but the items she had been bringing back caused some concern with airport security, so she ended up sending it with the rest of the cargo instead of using it as her second carry-on. Her main worry during this trip was that suitcase; the things inside of it were irreplaceable, and if it got lost she would be devastated.

Now, approaching the baggage claim, a new set of nerves accosted her. Her aunt would have been told about her..._ordeal._ The one thing Santana hated most about what had happened to her was how people looked at her now, even her family. _Pity_. Would her aunt be the same? Dread filled her stomach and constricted her throat. She wouldn't be able to take it if her aunt looked at her with pity in her eyes. She glanced around at the milling crowd waiting for their baggage, hugging and laughing as families were reunited.

"Santí!" She turned around and saw Isabel López waving wildly at her, and Santana broke into a grin. She weaved through strangers in her way and stopped feet before her favorite person in the world. Isabel's eyes reflected relief, happiness, love and the smallest bit of sorrow. She smiled softly and opened her arms, "C'mere, _cariña_. I've missed you so much." Relief spread through Santana, and she eased herself into a warm embrace, feeling secure and loved for the first time in a while. _This_ is why she loved her aunt. Instead of walking on eggshells around Santana or pushing her as if nothing had happened, Isabel had respected her boundaries and let Santana dictate what she was comfortable with, all without making it seem any different from before. And best of all, she acknowledged what Santana had gone through without that awful habit people had of pitying her.

"I missed you too, auntie. I really, really did."

/-/-/-/-/

After grabbing her beat-up suitcase from the carriage - another huge relief for Santana - they had made their way to the parking lot and out onto the highway towards Isabel's house. Though, really, you couldn't call such a magnificent piece of architecture a 'house'. The mayor's residence of Lima was beautiful; a two story mansion that was beautifully crafted nearly 100 years ago. It was painted all white with green trimmings, the front door was framed by slender pillars that supported a small, second story balcony. Santana hadn't ever been here before - Isabel had been elected mayor shortly after they had left Lima - but she acknowledged the fact that it fit her aunt perfectly: sophisticated, beautiful and slightly overpowering.

Santana craned her neck to look at the residence before here, awestruck. "Holy crap, _Tía_, this place is incredible! You get to _live_ here?!"

Her aunt giggled. "Yes, Santana, I get to live here. At least, for as long as I stay the Mayor of Lima. Which I plan on being a very long time. But I'm so glad you're going to be staying with me, sobrina. It get's lonely all by myself in this big, scary mansion..." She lifted the back of her hand to her forehead and sighed dramatically, making Santana burst out laughing. Isabel grinned at her.

"Okay, enough of that." Her aunt flapped a hand at her, "We have two choices, as I see it. One, if you're simply too tired to do anything but plunk your skinny ass down on a couch, then we'll have a ladies night with movies and junk food and call it an evening. Or two, if you're up for it, we can set all of your stuff inside and go shopping for a bit. Antonio sent some money ahead to get you situated with necessities, like clothes, a computer and school supplies. Then we can head back here and have our ladies night. What'll it be, _princesa_?"

Santana had had quite enough of sitting around and resting for the day. "Shopping, definitely. Where should I throw my stuff?"

When Santana's family had made the decision to move, they had also made the decision to sell all of their belongings save for family memorabilia. This included their house, car, electronics and clothing. Barely anything remained of Santana's old life; some photo albums, a few pieces of furniture, and some china. It had been hard, to let the material things go, but it made sense; why hang on to things you weren't going to need, or use, for a very long time? So the only things she now had to call her own were contained in two very beat up pieces of luggage.

Isabel smiled fondly at her only niece and led her to a room on the second floor. "This will be your room, dear. My room is at the end of the hall, so you can come and find me there anytime you want. This particular room has a bathroom and walkin closet attached, so don't worry about using the one in the hall."

Once again, Santana was struck dumb. After living in near squalor for three years, to have this kind of luxury was incredible. The walls of the room were painted a warm grey, the trims white. The fluffy, luxurious carpet was a rich mahogany brown, as were the sheets, and the accents of the room came in greens, blues and browns. It was perfect.

She turned to Isabel and hesitantly pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered, nearly in tears, "I love it. It's perfect."

Isabel returned the strength of the hug fiercely. "You're welcome,_ cariña_." As Santana withdrew, she grinned at her niece. "Now, throw those bags on the bed and let's get out of here. The mall awaits us!"

/-/-/-/

Once again, Santana had been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people; considering how small of a town Lima was, it was incredible how many of them packed themselves inside of a shopping mall. Isabel had dragged her from shop to shop; first to the Apple store, insisting that Santana have the very best (Isabel did not trust PC's, for everyone she had ever owned crashed within a year), then to the bookstore to pick up school supplies. Next, they had visited at least 5 clothing stores, picking out jeans, shirts, skirts, blouses, jackets, sweatshirts, socks, underwear, hats, scarves, shoes...Santana had forgotten just how many items a girl needed for the hazards of public school, especially during winter in Ohio. Finally, they stopped to eat at a small deli in the food court - Santana had explained her disastrous McDonald's experience - and Isabel noticed that Santana was acting a bit despondent, pushing her food around her plate and picking at her sandwich bread.

"What's got you so down, dear?"

Santana looked up and smiled ruefully. "After living in Uganda for so long, this much...stuff is kind of a shock to the system. I mean...the amount of food in this place could feed our village for at least a month. And don't get me started on the clothes. I had three full outfits there, and I was the envy of nearly everyone. I know I lived here for 14 years before we moved, but..."

"Those last three years are the ones that have shaped your life, Santana. When you left, you were a girl who spent her life as she pleased. When you moved, you had to learn some hard lessons. You grew up fast there, and it's going to take you awhile to readjust to life in the States. You need to remember something, though: you should not feel guilty." Santana glanced away at that; she had been feeling extremely guilty. For her to be able to live like this, even for a day, while the people she had grown to care about lived in one of the poorest nations in the world did not seem fair at all. Isabel gently tapped her chin, forcing her to meet her eyes again. "The fact that they live in such conditions is not your fault, and there is nothing you can truly do to change their situation. I know that logically, you understand this, but you need to hear it again. Their situation is due to a war torn country, a corrupt government, and a collapsed economy. Each has contributed to the others. You, my dear, have done more than others can hope to do in a lifetime by helping your father build that hospital and train those surgeons and other doctors. Because that hospital will survive, and his students will teach others. Thousands of people will be saved and healed, because of your family." She squeezed her niece's hand. "I know it's hard, but you just need to concentrate on living your life right now, ok? And I'm here to help you with that."

Santana nodded, clinging to the hand in hers as if it were a lifeline, and maybe it was. Adjusting back into an affluent lifestyle was going to be hard for Santana, but not impossible. She was determined.

/-/-/-/

Back at her aunt's house, they had the 'girls night in' as her aunt had promised, watching silly movies and helping get Santana's room settled and put away. Santana was thoroughly enjoying playing with her new laptop - things had improved so much in just three years, it was astounding! The next day was her new start in High School, this time as a Senior. Technically, she should have already received her GED, but she had never officially completed her final online courses, hence her returning to William McKinley. She hoped she would be able to handle the stress that came with going to public school; the people, the enclosed spaces, the teachers and assignments, the cliques and the bullying she knew were rife at WMHS. She should remember: she was part of the bullying during her first semester there, something she deeply regretted and hoped to make up for. She was also extremely nervous about seeing people she used to know: Brittany Pierce and Quinn Fabray in particular. Brittany had been her first best friend and her first crush - not that she would admit that to anyone out loud; it was hard enough to admit that to herself - but she and Quinn had always had an undeniable connection. It was Quinn who she'd missed the most, and she'd even sent her a couple of letters throughout the years. But seeing them both again in person was going to be an experience. Not to mention Noah Puckerman - her first 'boyfriend' - and so many of the other students at McKinley she had virtually grown up with.

As she settled under the bed covers in her almost too-comfortable new bed she reminded herself that she was indeed Santana López, and she could handle anything thrown at her; no high school was going to conquer her.  
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End file.
